1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an online game system. More particularly, the present invention relates to player information management.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, there has been an increasing number of video games (online games) operating on a network in which multiple players can simultaneously take part in a game using the network. In an online game, multiple terminals operated by respective players are connected to a game server group through a network, and communications are established between the terminals and the game server group. The game server group includes a server to which multiple video game machines are connected so that players can select other players to play with. The server can be referred to as a lobby server because it provides a virtual lobby for communications among players.
When a video game machine is connected to a lobby server, a screen showing a virtual ‘lobby’ is displayed on the display device of the video game machine. On the lobby screen, the character of a player and the characters of other players connected to the lobby server are displayed. The player can chat with other players so that they can communicate with one another and look for other players to play with.
When a desired game is selected from the menu displayed on the lobby screen, a video game machine is connected to one of the game servers in the game server group, and the game screen is displayed on the display device of the video game machine, thereby starting the game.
However, when there are an enormous number of selectable games, a player cannot easily select a desired game on the lobby screen. Therefore, the lobby is divided into multiple sections so that the players can easily select desired games. However, when a lobby is divided into a number of sections, the information about players in each section cannot be strategically provided. As a result, the information about the players in each section cannot be appropriately offered. Furthermore, dividing a lobby into a number of sections complicates management of the information about players, thereby assigning a heavy load to the server system and the network.